Interbike 2012: Helmet Hoodies

Being seen is always a priority for me whenever I ride on the street. The guys at Helmet Hoodies have developed covers for Helmets that have lights built in via a pocket where the fiber optic cable can fit through. When I came across their booth, I thought, wow they spent money at Interbike to show off helmet covers…how odd. But as they explained their product, it made more sense–having illumination for the rider’s head, in my opinion is very important.

The fiber optic last about 24 hours when it is in a non-blinking mode and 40 hours in blinking mode.

There are plenty of colors to choose from. Here is the product gallery from their site.

Doesn't completely cover your helmet.

One of the cool things that stood out to me was that not all of the “Hoodies” were designed to cover the design of the helmet. I know plenty that buy helmets as an expression or an extension of their personality and this was definitely a big plus for me.

The 80′s weren’t so bad Matt. Good things like wearing cycling shorts as part of your regular attire and mullets came from the 80′s. But you’re right it totally reminds me of my helmet that I had back then.

@Raiyn — good catch on the EL-covers. Not a single “daylight” pic of those, though…are they mesh covers or what?

The Helmet Hoodies DO look better — I like the pattern and color choices…now, if both competitors could do a mashup and offer EL covers in a wide range of styles, it would be about perfect (and we wouldn’t have to keep coin batteries on hand).

If you look closely at the first pic (viewing the inside) it does seem to be a sort of mesh as you can see the white of the product label backing. The rest of the pics make it look like a solid shiny material due to glare. I would have liked a picture that was lit from within somehow to better illustrate the material.

@mcClain: sorry for the super late response. They’re pretty bright given how bright it was at the bike expo. I would go to their website and see for yourself how it looks. The guys at the booth had this running joke that the minimum order is 1. Meaning you don’t have to buy in bulk just so you can see for yourself. I would say buy one, for sure.

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